Chapter 19
Islay enjoyed the time spent in the midmorning air with Kirsten.
There was no denying that Kirsten was right when she said that things would soon change.
Islay would no longer have the freedom of a child and be able to visit whomever she wanted whenever she wanted.
She would have other duties as Lady Connall, and it was likely that she and Kirsten would see each other on few occasions.
Marriage had a way of changing things, as it had done with Elspeth.
While Elspeth had not been part of the family, she had been a constant presence in Kilin, but as soon as she was married, Islay had not seen or heard much of her, despite her now being family as she had married Elspeth’s other cousin.
Perhaps in time, they would see each other again, and they could talk about married life, and one day Kirsten would be involved as well, and even Iona.
All the girls would be married eventually, and Islay only hoped that they could find a husband as kind as she had.
They reminisced over childhood memories and took joy in the bonds of friendship that had developed with the aid of kinship.
Islay and Kirsten laughed gaily as they made the short journey to Cinaed’s house.
The path was not a well-trodden one, and since they weren’t going that far from the clans, they didn’t feel the need to take a guard with them.
This was also because they knew the bandits had been driven back.
Even though the bandits were brazen, Islay didn’t think they were stupid enough to linger around an area when they were being hunted.
Cinaed’s house was a humble, squat building made of stone.
A plume of smoke rose from the chimney. There was a small garden outside where a single chicken danced about, clucking loudly.
A flower bed was in front of the cottage window, although the flowers looked wilted and worse for wear.
Beyond that, there was a garden where crops were growing, although they looked ragged and unhealthy.
As they grew closer, Islay could see that the plants being grown weren’t appetizing at all.
Cinaed may have had many talents, but gardening certainly wasn’t one of them.
They were about to enter the garden when they suddenly heard a huge ruckus coming from the house.
Islay and Kirsten glanced at each other, fear etched upon their faces.
Islay’s throat ran dry, for it sounded as though Cinaed was being attacked.
Pans clanged, and chairs were being upended.
Had a bandit come for her as well? It wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility…
perhaps a fleeing bandit had come across this place and found himself an easy victim.
“We hae tae dae something!” Islay said.
“Ye wait here. I’ll see what’s happening,” Kirsten said.
Before Islay had a chance to protest, Kirsten was already moving towards the house, keeping low so she wouldn’t be seen through the window.
Islay remained by the fence, craning her neck to see if she could glean anything from her vantage point, but aside from a few flourishes of shadow, she could see nothing.
Kirsten crept up to the window and peered through, and then reared back in surprise.
She pressed her back flat against the wall and looked in again, before beckoning for Islay to come and join her.
Islay followed the path that Kirsten had taken, mimicking her movements.
Kirsten jerked with her thumb, indicating for Islay to have a look at what was happening inside.
Islay did so tentatively, unsure what could have brought about that reaction from Kirsten.
Part of her was afraid that she would see Cinaed at the mercy of a bandit, or perhaps she might see a bandit at the mercy of Cinaed.
Cinaed could be a fierce woman, and this was her home.
If there was anywhere she could fend off a bandit, then it would be here.
But when Islay looked into the window, she saw something that she had not been expecting, and it certainly explained why Kirsten had reacted the way she did.
There was no bandit in the house. In fact, there was nobody in the house aside from Cinaed.
Her coppery hair flew about in a red wave, and she threw her hands about as though she was the embodiment of a storm.
She hurled pots and pans, kicked over chairs, and howled like a wolf.
But there was nobody else there, so Islay had no idea who was the focus of her ire.
“This is so unfair! I deserve better!” Cinaed’s yells were punctuated by a dish smashing as Cinaed hurled it across the room, and it crashed into a far wall. Islay was disturbed by the scene of destruction.
“I thought ye said she was ill?” Islay said.
Kirsten shrugged. With the vehemence and violence that Cinead was displaying, it certainly didn’t seem as though she was ill at all.
“Should we leave her?” Kirsten said.
Islay shook her head. “She was willing tae help me when I was in trouble. If she’s in distress now, then I should help her.
” Islay moved towards the door and rapped her knuckles against it.
The sounds of screaming stopped, followed by thunderous footsteps.
Cinaed flung the door open in a blaze of fury.
Her eyes were wide, but they narrowed when she saw Islay.
“Cinaed? It’s me. It’s Islay. What’s happening? Why are ye daeing this?”
“Oh, aye, ye would be the one tae show up on my doorstep, wouldnae ye?” Her voice was a harsh rasp, and Islay suddenly felt threatened.
“What dae ye mean?” she asked. Kirsten came around to stand by Islay’s side.
Cinaed didn’t seem fazed by her presence.
“Cinaed, we just came tae check on ye. We thought ye were ill. We brought ye some food.” She handed the basket to Cinaed, who took it, looked at it with derision, and then placed it carelessly on the table behind her.
“I’m nae ill,” she said.
“Then why were ye nae at the wedding?” Islay asked.
Cinaed huffed and looked towards the ceiling. “Are ye blind, lass? Can ye truly nae see the plain facts of the matter? The truth is that I am in love with Callum. I wanted tae marry him. I always hae.”
Islay frowned. “Ye hae?”
Cinaed gave a dry chuckle. “Aye, did ye nae remember what we spoke about the first time we met? I knew that ye were intended for him, but ye didnae seem tae be enthusiastic about the whole thing. I thought I haed a chance. I tried tae be a good friend for him, tried tae be there for him as he mourned his father, but even then he was devoted tae ye. Even though ye werenae married, yet, he was in love with ye,” she spoke bitterly.
“Then when we came to see ye again, I heard about how ye tried tae escape and how all this time he hae been devoted tae ye, ye haed tried tae scheme yer way out of getting married tae him. Ye were ungrateful, Islay. Ye didnae deserve him.”
“They were always arranged tae be married,” Kirsten said. “Ye should hae known it was inevitable.”
“Aye, some things are inevitable. But that doesnae mean they hae tae be this way. Ye arenae the only one who haes noble blood, although my parents barely left me anything. Just this wee house and the plot of land that comes with it, nae that I can find much joy from the land. I’m nae made for this life.
My sisters hae all been married, my parents gone.
I hae naebody else tae arrange a good match for me.
If I didnae marry Callum then I’d end up here, alone, living out my days on thin broth and unripe vegetables. ”
She shook her head, as though it was the greatest travesty known to man.
“I didnae deserve this. All ye haed tae dae was take my offer. I gave ye everything ye needed. Ye haed the locket, the clothes, all of it. Ye could hae been gone living the life of yer dreams, and I could hae been living mine, but ye haed tae stay, didnae ye? Ye haed tae ruin everything.” She clutched the frame of the door with her spindly fingers, her nails scratching against the wooden frame.
“Be honest with yerself, Islay. Ye never wanted him in the first place, and ye dinnae want him now. A lass like ye cannae change her mind that easily. Ye are always gaeing tae be looking out at the horizon, wondering what adventures are waiting for ye. Ye might be able tae delude yerself for a while. Ye might be able tae tell yerself that ye can be a good wife and give him plenty of children, but we both know ye will never love him the way ye love adventure, the way ye love the open world.”
Islay could hear the whisper of the wind in her heart, and the wild called to her.
She wasn’t sure it would ever go away, but she also knew that Cinaed wasn’t right, even though she sounded convinced.
That was a path she could have gone down, and perhaps she would have lived an exciting, thrilling life.
But she knew she would not regret marrying Callum.
Love had seared away her doubts and left her with the knowledge that she was on the right path.
“Ye should hae left him for me. I would hae loved him better than ye could hae,” Cinaed said spitefully. Venom dripped from her words. Islay could see the truth, naked and exposed in front of her, and it filled her with fear.
Cinaed was the one who had set the bandits upon her.
There was nothing else that made sense. Cinaed would have known about the secret tunnels.
She had been absent from the wedding because she knew what was happening.
She likely would have been ready to swoop in and comfort Callum as well, ready to convince him that life would continue and he still had someone who could make him a good life.
Her mother’s locket was expensive. It clearly had no sentimental value for Cinaed as she had offered it to Islay.
Was it so far-fetched to believe that she had offered it as a reward to a bandit as well?